Personally, I put all my metal(keys, phone, change, etc) in my carryon bag before I even get in line. Shoes and belt off--everything I can do to expedite the process.

Yes sir, Dobs, that's another good strategy that I often use. + I also try to keep in mind the nail clippers and pen knives, but I don't often carry those. (I do carry a Leatherman when I'm traveling to an IT job site, but try getting that through security. They send the Dobermans and you're bathed in sweeping floodlights from the guard towers.)

Phat...do you still use your Handspring visor? Will the software install on Windows XP? I have an OLD Visor...think grayscale screen, and I still have my file backup on my new XP machine, but I just never got around to installing the software for fear it wouldn't even install on XP.

Good question, Dobs. I have a grayscale Visor Deluxe, myself. (The one that's often mentioned in Fortcon posts from last year. )

I bought a new truck, and I turned the Visor into a way to track all my expenses, mileage, and maintenance records through this: TealAuto.

It's one less thing to synchronize now that the Visor does not contain my contacts and calendar. (I paid for and use Yahoo! almost exclusively for that.)

Yes, the Visor desktop software is compatible with XP (Professional edition, anyway ), and you can download the latest version here.

FYI, if you're interested in an HP, Dell or Gateway Pocket PC (Windows compatible), don't bother. I wanted one for the wireless 'Net capabilities, and I disliked it so much when I tried one from work that I gave up on it.

A work colleague of mine recently picked up an AudioVox(isn't this the cheapo brand?), Verizon powered Pocket PC and he loves it. He's pushing me to get one too. I was always under the impression that the Windows Palmtop/pocket pc operating system was crap. Seeing as how the only palm type device I ever had was the Visor, I'm not really the best judge. Has that outlook changed in the past few years? I guess what I'm asking is...what's a good pocket pc/palmtop/pda device to have these days?

A work colleague of mine recently picked up an AudioVox(isn't this the cheapo brand?), Verizon powered Pocket PC and he loves it. He's pushing me to get one too.

Yeah, they're pretty ghetto.

I was always under the impression that the Windows Palmtop/pocket pc operating system was crap.

CE/Pocket PC is crap...always has been, and now I'm convinced they always will be. Market share does not equate with quality, and I shouldn't have forgotten that.

Seeing as how the only palm type device I ever had was the Visor, I'm not really the best judge. Has that outlook changed in the past few years? I guess what I'm asking is...what's a good pocket pc/palmtop/pda device to have these days?

The Palm as we knew it is quickly becoming obsolete and survives through the Treo.

I've tried phones with expanded contact/calendar capabilities, the Blackberry, the Visor, the Pocket PC, a Windows CE(!) device, and I'm beginning to think that igotalife has it just right with the Treo.

I'd heard good things about those, too.

I mean, look, device consolidation is what we're all after. I suppose it's all about why you need/want the device. Make some calls? Make a lot of calls? Keep your contacts? Calendar? Play some games? Text messaging? Email? Do you need Bluetooth? Or other capability?

Once you figure that out, then you can look for the right device for you. And most devices these days are expandable by add-on. Hell, even our jinky-ass Visors had a phone module you could purchase to turn those dinosaurs into cell phones ():

The nerd in me researched this thing to death and I kept coming up with favorable reviews...plus, you can take it for a test spin at Cingular...

I have tons of contacts, my planner, the "docs to go" version of word/excel, a mini-financial book keeper program similar to Quickbooks or something like that, it's Bluetooth enabled, has email syncing, internet capable, MP3 player, etc.

The ONLY thing I could see that it was getting bad reviews for was the memory capacity (easily solved by an expansion card...which by the way, this uses the secure digital cards just like the old Palms and the same I can use in my digital camera and have downloaded some songs to as well ) and the other downfall is no WIFI.

I've had a Treo 600 for a couple of years now and love it. I do want to get a 650 when the prices come down a little. To me, the Treo is by far the best all-in-one device. I use it for work and for play. I even use it to check in on FORT when I'm on the train going home from work!

By the way, for any Treo users who don't know about it, treocentral.com is a great site. Besides Treo-related news and accessories, the forum there is awesome. It's a good place to go for troubleshooting as well as to learn about new programs and new ways to use your Treo.

Seriously? Not even as an add-on? Or in another, pricier model with expanded capabilities? I don't know--that's a deal breaker for me.

It's correct that you can't buy a Treo with wifi. As igotalife says, it is available as a hack, and it seems to work pretty well. (I haven't tried it so I'm just reporting what I've heard/read.)

The lack of wifi, to me, is the only shortcoming of the new Treo. More internal memory would be nice, but with the SD card, it's not that big a deal. You can access the internet - I use it everyday on my Treo - but it's not as fast as it would be with wifi.

Well, and in terms of shortcomings, I guess in a perfect world the Treo would be a little smaller. It would be nice if they could lose the little antenna without losing range/reception.

Bit Torrent

Is anyone here knowledgeable about using Bit Torrent to download things like movies and TV shows? (Legally, of course.)

I'm an old hand at mp3's, but haven't really got into the torrent thing. Whenever I've tried to check it out, it seems that it's hard to find good stuff to download without paying someone a membership fee for access - which makes me think I'm missing something.

I pick up on this kind of stuff pretty fast, but this is new to me and I just don't know much about it. If anyone has any favorite sites and/or tips and tricks, I'd appreciate the info.

Bittorrent (just BT or torrent for short) is great for downloading multiple or large files that you want. Unlike programs like Napster (the old one), BT is not really suited for finding a single song. You could find the whole album, but unless it's rare, rarely put into it's own torrent package.

When it comes to sites, I'm afraid I have nothing. But tips I do have. Make sure you seed any files you complete. Seeding happends once you complete a download, and you become the one that hosts the file for others to download. Some sites are strict about seeding, and want at least a 1:1 ratio (if you download the file, you must upload the same amount you downloaded) or sometimes a 2:1 (you must upload the file twice) otherwise, they won't let you use their service anymore.

The best thing to do is just let your torrents run in the background while you're away, or sleeping. That way, others will grab the files, and when you return, and you've uploaded enough to keep your ratio, then you can turn them off.

The system is semi-complicated, but it's there to weed out the leechers who download the file, and stop seeding the file. They get the file, and we don't get someone else to download off of, slowing everyone down. It happends, but there's not much we can do.

As for this thread, I'm suprised I haven't seen it earlier. I usually buy new toys for my computer or just general technology in general from month to month. I have nothing really new now, though. x_x